Thursday 28 February 2013

Day 11 - Goodbyes

Today was a day of goodbyes, some happy, some sad, but all with promises to return.

Before heading out today I had to say goodbye to Dorothy. She didn't take it well and started to cry. Being terrible at these situations about all I could muster was an awkward hug and a 'there there'. I'm sure she will be fine. She seems to have built up a good friend network at the school and is focussing more in class.

Then it was delivery time. The plan was that the receivers of the income generating loans would come to the school and then we would take them home depositing their items with them. But this is Uganda. At the time we were supposed to be leaving only 2 had arrived, the delivery truck was nowhere to be seen and for some reason that eludes me Israel was loading an oven into the CALM van.

An hour and a half later we were ready to go. The final item, the pig, was chased, caught, tied and hauled into the truck tray. Watching Ben run around the pig pen trying to catch it was a sight to see!

First we went to Scovia's house and left her with 3 bags of charcoal. Next was Ronald's pig and bran. The pig was (understandably) a little distressed so we hung around for a while to make sure it got cooled down and settled in OK. Israel decided the pig should be named Susan, but the family have a daughter named Susan so we called is Isobel - much to his annoyance. Then was Mary who was also left with 3 bags of charcoal.

Next we went to Mariam with her 2 bags of charcoal and shop rent. While there we were able to check on the latrine which is coming on nicely. She gave us half a jackfruit as a token of her gratitude. I'd never had one before but it's quite tasty.

Finally we found Margaret at the CALM field office and distributed her loan. Once the field office is up and running Margaret will be employed by CALM as their representative in the area and will run her business from the office. There will also be vocational skills training for at risk young women there. There is still a bit of work to be done there before they're ready to open.

After work we were treated to a farewell lunch with James, Joseph, Martin, Israel, Ben, Ali and the other 2 volunteers. It was a typical Ugandan meal with piles and piles of starchy food, followed by some really rather formal, but appreciates speeches from each of them. Afterwards we played pool and chatted, James telling us how sometimes he likes to so the driving on the boda bodas he hires. 'They are scared but it's OK.'

Our ride to the airport was quite long, but we were kept entertained by the men weaving through the traffic on foot selling a random assortment of products. These included a map of Africa, belts, shoes, a kitchen knife set, some sort of games console, CDs, loofahs and toilet paper.

It was also a great chance to get to chat to Joseph who was driving us. He is concerned about the upcoming Kenyan election and the effect it will have on Uganda. If Kenyan's strike or riot, it means no petrol in Uganda - the perils of being a landlocked country. Joseph said that last time there were problems people were walking to work or not going for 3 weeks. I can only imagine the damage that did to the economy.

Sitting here at the airport sweating my butt off, having a Nile Special, I am looking forward to running water and being able to step outside without being instantly covered in red dust. But I'm really sad to be leaving CALM and Uganda again.

Once again, thank you so much to all the people who donated and allowed us to make the contributions we did. You have had a huge impact on so many people's lives and we will keep you updated on other progress.

Wednesday 27 February 2013

Day 10 - Shopping!

Today we got to put our plans into action and go shopping for the donation and loan items.

The shopping list looked like this:
* 20 mosquito nets
* 8 bunk beds
* 10 clocks
* 8 bags of charcoal
* 1 pig
* 1 sack of maize bran
* 1 sack of potatoes

First we went to a farm next to the school who have pigs for sale. Benedict had picked one out that was the right price for us and looked healthy. We took his word for it and made our first ever pig purchase.

Then we split up with Leckie and Martin going to get the bunk beds and Benedict and I going for everything else.

First we looked for the maize bran. We haggled with a local dealer to get the price we wanted and the right mix for the pig to grow quickly. The mix included cotton, salt and fish. We watched them mix it on the floor in front of us to be sure they didn't skimp on the fish and left the bag for later collection.

Next we purchased the mosquito nets and went in search of clocks. I'm not sure why I was surprised but there were no clocks to be found. Martin is going to Kampala tomorrow and will get them then.

After this we looked for charcoal, finding someone willing to sell us the entire sacks. They are absolutely massive and I had no idea what we were going to do with them, but we paid and Benedict instructed them to hold them while we found a truck.

Then we found a potato seller. Sacks of potatoes turned out to be very expensive, so we decided it best to leave this one. So we added one bag of charcoal to the loan of Mary and took out the potatoes. When she repays the charcoal loan then CALM will look at the potato option.

We had to then hire a truck, which consisted of just approaching a truck driver and bartering a price. After loading the charcoal into the back though it was obvious that the bran wouldn't fit, so we hired a boda boda (motorbike) also and strapped the bran to this.

We had not long been back at Jolly Mercy when Leckie returned in another truck with the bunk beds and several men in the tray. They had been stopped twice by traffic police, one of whom wanted to know why they had a M'zungu in the car. No questions about the men standing in the tray though.

The men set to work assembling the bunks in the dorms and were done by the time we left. In the meantime more trucks turned up carrying things for the construction work that will be happening and work on the playground began. I've been amazed and super impressed at how quickly this has all happened.

Tomorrow we distribute!

Today's tidbits:
* When discussing domestic violence against men, a man on the radio this morning said that if a woman hit him he would just put her in a suitcase and put her outside.
* Naming animals is not common place in Uganda, but Israel has named his cows. One of them is named Brian.
* It's been so dry and dusty here. I told them it was going to rain on Saturday and now they think I am a prophet. I tried to explain it was just BBC weather.
* There are 'not for sale' signs everywhere. This is to prevent people selling land that does not belong to them.
* While at a shop I saw a funeral wreath that read 'Rest in internal peace'
* Several of the children have now drawn tattoos onto themselves to copy Leckie

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Donations

Thanks to all of our generous family and friends we have been able to make some excellent contributions. Here is the list of donations made and why we think they are a good idea.

20 mosquito nets
There are currently 20 children at Jolly Mercy sleeping with either no net or a torn one. These will help prevent malaria, minimise the risk of malaria related disability and allow the children to spend more time in the classroom and less in the hospital.

Playground Upgrade
At present there are 2 working items of playground equipment at Jolly Mercy. When the children fall off they fall on to the rocks below and sometimes necessitate a trip to hospital. This donation will create a soft sand base for the play equipment to reduce injuries and a basic equipment upgrade (some used car tyres).

8 bunk beds
There are currently children sleeping on mattresses on the floor in the girls dorms. This means that they aren't able to use mosquito nets. This donation will get them off the floor and help prevent malaria. They are in need of 5 beds at the moment, but 8 will allow them to bring in an extra 6 children.

10 clocks
This is a super cheap but necessary one. The school is trying to teach the children to value time, but there is no way for them to tell what time it actually is. This is 1 clock per classroom.

Shuttering for boys' dorms
Jolly Mercy are currently working on a second boys dormitory. The dorm has no windows at the moment. This donation should make the dorm functional allowing for the introduction not news students and reduction of overcrowding in the existing dorm.

Latrine for Mariam
This will improve the hygiene of this family, their surrounding community and will provide income for local diggers, builder, brick maker, cement seller, timber seller, etc.

Loan for Margaret
A small business loan to allow Margaret to purchase shoes and handbags from Owe no market in Kampala to sell in her local community. When returned this loan will be a donation for CALM Africa.

Loan for Marian
A small business loan for Mariam in the form of 2 sacks of coal and 1 month rent at the local trading centre. This is close to home so would mean Mariam doesn't have to leave her disabled child home alone when she goes to work - as she does now. When returned this loan will be a donation for CALM Africa.

Loan for Mary
A small business loan in the form of charcoal and potatoes to allow Mary to expand her business. When returned this loan will be a donation for CALM Africa.

Loan for Ronald
A small business loan in the form of 1 pig and a sack of maize. This will be returned in the form of 3 piglets that will be distributed into other needy families to start their own piggeries.

Loan for Scovia
A small business loan in the form of 3 sacks of charcoal. When returned this loan will be a donation for CALM Africa.

It's never easy to hold the futures of people in your hands and make decisions based on money entrusted to you by others, but we're comfortable we have made the right choices and thanks to all of your generosity have been able to provide a lot of support that will effect a lot of people.

Thank you. :-)

Day 9 - Making Decisions

Breakfast this morning was an interesting affair. We have eggs, but due to a county wide gas shortage there is no way to cook them. We had also 3 loaves of bread. Loaf one was full of bugs and no doubt responsible for the cockroach infestation in the refrigerator. Loaf 2 from the freezer was mouldy from being defrosted and frozen repeatedly with the power outages. The 3rd looked reasonable though so we ate it.

The plan today was to see a few more people who are seeking small business loans and make a final decision on where to spend the donation money.

True to Uganda though the first visit didn't quite go to plan. The first woman we went to see was called Nancy. When we arrived she was sitting on the floor of her tiny room crying, holding her hand in the air. Her left arm and hand were really swollen and infected. She refuses to go to the hospital believing that she could die if she does. Despite pur protests that she could die if she doesn't we had to settle on traditional medicine. So we went to a local herb dealer and got her some herbs. The idea is that she ingests some, rubs some on her arm, ties it off and waits until it is ready to pop. She has a wound on one of her fingers where she has tried to 'pop' it but it wasn't ready. It was so hard walking away knowing that she could easily die from something so easily treated because she doesn't believe in modern medicine. The smell in the room was awful as well. I don't think she has bathed in the 2 weeks since the infection started which won't be helping.

While we were at Nancy's house we asked Israel about painkillers. We tried then words 'painkiller', 'paracetamol' and 'ibuprofen' and all were met with blank looks. We also enquired about a missing finger from the swollen hand. Apparently it is unrelated, having been bitten off in a fight when she was younger.

Nancy really believes that someone has put a charm on her and that the only way she can be saved is with traditional medicine. Unfortunately Nancy was in no condition to discuss a business plan so we had to leave her with some herbs and move on.

Next we went to visit a woman named Mary. She has 3 children who attend school and her husband has left 3 years ago. She is currently selling tomatoes from a makeshift stall in front of her house and runs at a profit of 21,000 shillings per week (£5). She currently wants a loan to expand into the charcoal and Irish (standard potatoes) business. She is an excellent candidate for a small business loan with her business experience and demonstrated motivation.

The next candidates we saw were a full family, the father named Ronald. They have 7 children, 3 of whom are wheelchair bound after untreated malaria in childhood. When we arrived neither parent was home, but the children's grandmother introduced us to them and showed us around. Later Ronald came to the school to chat.

Ronald is seeking a pig loan, which will allow his wife to work from home caring for the pig and also their children with special needs. The way a log loan works is that you give a female pig and a sack of maize. When the female gives birth the recipient family will raise the piglets up to the same size as the one handed over. At that stage repayment comes to CALM in the form of 3 pigs which will be used for similar loans. The remainder and the original pig then belong to the family to breed, raise and sell.

Ronald has kept pigs before and I am very impressed that he has stuck by his wife through the children's disability. This is not something I've seen a lot of. Not only has Ronald stuck around by he has created a local network of parents of children with disabilities, encouraging access to medication and anti-discrimination. This has now been running for 3 years and has 210 members.

Finally we saw a woman named Scovia. Scovia's husband left her and their 6 children and sold the land out from under them. Thankfully a member of the local community has taken them in and they have a roof over their heads. All 7 of them are now living in a room that is about 3.5 x 4metres though and Scovia needs to find a way to get back on her feet and improve their situation.

Scovia is seeking a loan of 3 sacks of charcoal which she can sell in smaller quantities for profit. There is a small stall in front of the property Scovia is staying in that she can use to sell her charcoal and there is only one person already selling in the area.

Back at Jolly Mercy we made our final decision on donations, made payment to Ben and arranged to see this all through for the next 2 days.

Final stop for the day was the bar for a celebratory drink. Joseph and Martin from CALM joined us with their usual amusing stories. CALM have a second volunteer house in the more remote Rakai district. Joseph told us how once volunteers there had ignored his instructions to wear proper shoes and has ended up with jiggers in their toes - little bugs that love under your skin and feed off your blood. When the locals saw they had them they all laughed as jiggers are associated with being unclean and people are looked down on for having them. They had to dig them out with a safety pin. What a hard lesson learned!

Funny things that happened today:
* Ben was telling us about the first time he bought a pig. He hog tied it and strapped it to the back of his motorcycle. He says the pig liked it, but started squealing as they went through the market and people started shouting at him.
* We saw a woman pushing a bicycle. Ali, Israel and Boscoe collapsed in fits of hysteria with Ali asking us 'have you ever seen a woman riding a bicycle?!'
* A bee flew past us and we were informed that this means visitors are coming.
* Afro bar was playing Ninja Warrior with all patrons staring in disbelief

Monday 25 February 2013

Day 8 - Plans Coming Together

Before we got started this morning we went on a walk around the outter school grounds with Edward. He showed us the fields where they grow bananas, cassava, sweet potato, paw paw and jackfruit to feed the school. We also saw the pigs and new piglets, which are sold for income.

Since my last visit the school has built a well. This is clean water but is about 5 minutes walk from the school (without full jerry cans). The children all go for water at the end of the school day. Edward says they have a pump and filter and hope to pump it up to the school one day, but can't yet afford the piping.

This morning we had a typically mad Ugandan conversation with Benedict. He was telling us how he doesn't like to eat ants because sometimes their legs stick in your throat. He's fine with grasshoppers though.

Then of course we moved on to witchdoctors. There was a woman in the office this morning who is being assisted by CALM. She showed us her arm which was swollen. She said that someone had out a charm on her and her arm got infected. It is a common belief that infections are caused by charms. Also, in these situations people don't go to hospital because 'sometimes when you go to hospital with this you die'. Ironically rather than realising that these deaths are due to leaving it too long to go to the hospital, they attribute them to going to the hospital itself. So instead they use a local herb and rub it hard up and down the arm until the skin breaks and the pus is released. Then they might consider going to the hospital to have the wound treated. Ben doesn't believe in witchcraft, despite coming from the very tribal North of Uganda. He does believe that there are psychological effects of believing in curses though and that people think themselves into illnesses.

We got the costs this morning for some things that need doing at the school, put down payment for Mariam's latrine and confirmed visits for families requesting small business loans. By tomorrow afternoon we will have a full plan for the donation money and will be able to help quite a few people with it. So exciting!

I'm feeling really good about the latrine. Not only will it improve the health of Mariam, her children and their neighbours, but will also inject cash into the local economy - the diggers, handyman, concrete supplier, brick supplier and wood supplier will all be local and will benefit from this order.

For the next two days we are focussing on requests for small business loans. This would mean donating the loan money to CALM, overseeing goods purchase as well as CALM providing training on book keeping, business plans and household budgeting. When the money is repaid it becomes a donation to CALM to use where they feel is appropriate.

We also have some brochures from UNICEF who are doing free immunisations and some healthcare. The brochure is in English though so Israel translated it for the families we saw.

The first woman we saw is called Margaret. We went to the school where she works earning 60,000 shillings a month (around £15). Her children also receive tuition as part of her package. For this reason she wants to stay in this job, but also wants to start a small business selling women's shoes and handbags. Her sister would do this for her while she is at work and Margaret would take over at 4pm daily. Margaret is pregnant and I'm concerned that she is working in a kitchen. Here, this means being in a reasonably enclosed room with large coal fires, breathing in a lot of smoke. I put to her that perhaps her sister would be better here with Margaret selling the shoes. She didn't seem to excited about that idea.

Margaret had run a small business before, however her husband who is an alcoholic, took her money and so she wasn't able to purchase any further goods to sell. I'm obviously very worried that if we give her a loan that he will just take her money again. She assures me that they are separated and while they live in the same house they are in separate rooms and she has a lock.

It's really encouraging to see someone thinking outside the box and being so enterprising but the husband is a real worry.

Next we went to Mariam's house. She was home and we were able to discuss the latrine with her. She was very thankful. We gave her also some children's clothing that we were given to bring from the UK.

We discussed with Mariam that she had left the child home alone and that she needs to avoid doing this. She was asking for a start up loan for some land to grow crops on. As this would mean travelling far and leaving the child we said this would not be appropriate. Her other idea was a charcoal selling business where she will use a loan to purchase large bags of charcoal and rent shop space. She can make about 20,000 shillings profit a week doing this.

We went to the local shop space to check that no one else is already selling charcoal there and it's looking like a go ahead.

Tomorrow we will see the remaining 4 loan candidates and be able to make a decision.

Sunday 24 February 2013

Day 7.2 - Culture

After cooling down from reading Uganda's equivalent to The Sun this afternoon I picked up the other papers we got. These thankfully read much more intelligently. They mainly focussed on corruption and lack of access to public services. One had an article about a fire on one the highways that started when a full petrol tanker tried to overtake some cars.

We had a touristy evening planned, escorted by CALM's Ali. He took us first to the Bahai temple. There is apparently 1 Bahai temple on each continent and they seek to unite all religions. Inside the temple there are books of faith for each major religion and no religious symbolism. Strangely though, reading the literature, it seems as though Bahai is in itself a faith as well. Odd.

The temple is set on beautiful green grounds with a view over Kampala. Ali told us how when he was a child living in Katanga slums below, he uses to skip school and come to the Bahai grounds. For lunch he would rustle up some edible grasshoppers and jack fruit from the temple gardens. He was caught there in school uniform once and taken to the police station to wait for his parents to collect him.

Along the drive talk inevitably turned to witches. Leckie told Ali how not so long ago in the UK people were often accused of being witches and thrown into lakes to see if they floated. Ali told us that here, to test if a baby is yours, you take the umbilical cord, dry it out, then put it in water. If the cord floats the baby is yours. Apparently some men tamper with the cord to ensure it sinks. As if the men here need another excuse to deny their responsibilities!!

We went this evening to a cultural show that demonstrated songs and dances from across the region. Some of the dancers were very impressive. My particular favourite was from Rwanda where the men donned long blonde wigs and headbanged. It was like being back home in Camden.

The host was an excellent showman and had appeared in the movie Last King of Scotland. However, his talk of the great kingdom of Buganda, their democracy, how they distribute wealth to ensure all are taken care of and how well they treat women was a little hard to swallow after what we've seen. It make me wonder how much the tourists around us knew about what was happening in this country.

On the way home we were charting to Ali about something we had sewn yesterday. There was a huge military helicopter and as we passed the army blocked the street. While interested to know what was happening we thought better of hanging around. Recently the President's father passed away and as it turns out this helicopter was to take his body back to his home region. No such things as a quiet, uneventful day in Uganda!

I've had a query about sponsoring a child to attend Jolly Mercy. The top priority children at the moment are those in the Katanga slum, who would need to board. To sponsor a child to board at Jolly Mercy is £308 per year (around $450 AUD). This includes meals, healthcare, accommodation and uniforms.

If anyone else is interested please let me know and I'll email through the children's profiles.

Day 7.1 - Politics

Today is Sunday and there's not a lot to do but sit around and think.

I've been thinking a bit about the presence of the army here in Uganda. When I was here last I saw no military personnel. However, recently Uganda withdrew their troops from missions across Africa amidst accusations that they were providing assistance to rebels in The Congo.

Now they roll around Kampala in open backed trucks with giant wheels reminiscent of monster trucks. I can only imagine how terrifying such a sight must have been for those in the Congolese jungle and what those soldiers have likely seen.

The police are also a strong presence on the main roads with their dark blue camouflage uniforms and outdated rifles (often carelessly pointing out to the traffic or their own heads). They cut quite a stern presence and they scare me a little. Yesterday when we were on the way back from the restaurant we heard sirens and several police trucks went past, rows of officers sitting on the benches in the back of the trucks. One of them smiled as me as I stared open mouthed. I'm sure he was just being friendly to the M'Zungu, the fact that his rifle was across his lap and pointing in my direction didn't set me at ease. We then had another police man approach us to see if we knew where we were going. He was so friendly and we got chatting for a little while, him amazed that I knew a few Luganda words. It's amazing that most people who come here don't even bother to learn 'Hello' and 'Thank you'.

With the army having returned to Uganda some journalists have speculated about the possibility of a military coup. People openly discuss their feelings on government corruption and there is no doubting that competition is squashed with the opposition leader barricaded in his house a few villages up from us. However people remember the days of Amin and while happy to discuss what their current government are doing wrong, they remember it could be much worse. Given that, I'm not so sure the people would support an overthrow. Not that I know anywhere near enough about African politics for my opinion to be reliable!!

As we gave the house a bit of a tidy this morning to prepare for new volunteers arriving today, a chicken wandered in to the lounge. It was about to jump on to the sofa when Leckie busted it and it hightailed it out of there. There's been a rooster trying to gain the courage to come in to the house from the other side today too.

Around lunch we walked to the local shop to grab some supplies and picked up a few newspapers. One paper we got is a trash tabloid and the newspaper responsible for the whole 'name the gay' thing. Across the front of today's edition reads "Top Uganda Gay Recruiters Busted". The paper names Ugandan gays, many of whom are activists that we knew from an excellent documentary we saw called "Call Me Kuchu". I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in this issue. This paper alleges that David Kato was murdered by his lover and not by a homophobic mob and that these people are recruiting by force.

The lack of understanding really is astounding. I really don't think that there is any understanding not what 'gay' means and it astounds me that so much homophobia exists in a country where men frequently stroll around holding hands. The article we read today is nothing short of sensationalist lies. It tells people that gays are 'recruiting' their children and where to look out for them. The article is so incredibly fabricated that I can't see how anyone could believe it. For example, according to this paper, in gay slang, Somali means 'a guy without an arse.' What the actual f***?!

There have been encouraging developments though. One gay Ugandan man had his house raided and computers seized. He sued the Attorney General and won. Another newspaper was forced to cease trading for publishing content like this. Legal action was taken successfully by those named and Rolling Stone had to stop trading.

I think it's important to note that I don't think this newspaper's views are reflective of the general population. People in Uganda don't hold back on telling you what they think and I have never had anyone mention homosexuality to me.

This blog on the issue is really quite interesting:
http://sebaspace.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/david-cecil-gets-it/

Unbelievably, further on in this same newspaper there is an article on beastiality fantasies. They are not portrayed in a negative light, more as something that is just plain natural.

Truly unbelievable.

Saturday 23 February 2013

Day 6 - Eating Africa

Today there is a party at Jolly Mercy school. One of their staff has completed his studies and is now a fully fledged pastor. There will be large amounts of food and a good dose of African style preaching. Being atheist I declined to attend, heading instead into Kampala.

It's worth noting that while Jolly Mercy is a Christian school and pretty much everyone in Uganda is 'born again', CALM have mixed faith staff and I have not at any time felt pressured over religion. Occasionally one of the children will ask if I'm born again and look very confused when I say no, but that's about it.

Leckie and I are covered in bites this morning. Not sure if a mosquito got into the net last night or if it has something to do with the ants in our bed. They just seem to get everywhere.

It was nice to have a slow start this morning. We took our time having breakfast and listening to crazy Ugandan radio. It started with trying to explain to people that if you see an old person trying to get into a taxi you should assist them, not fight with them. Then it told girls not not to play hard to get or 'you will end up being a loser'.

Never far from starting on Ugandan radio is criticism of the current government. Today's topic is the missing 500 million donated to the public hospital. They said also that despite previous funds going missing, World Vision have donated more for Mulago Hospital to fix their pipes. Also on this topic was the belief that the government is inflating the price of malaria medication.

If there's truth to this one then it's extremely worrying. Many of disabilities we have seen are as a result of malaria being untreated and fevers being unable to be controlled. The government needs to make this medication as accessible as possible.

Our shared taxi to Kampala was typically overcrowded, impatient and in poor repair. The driver, growing impatient of the traffic, pulled out on to the wrong side of the road and drove down there. He then started honking his horn at the vehicles coming our way as if they were the ones in the wrong.

When we got to Kampala we headed for the craft market and got thoroughly M'zunugued (charged more because you are white) on some souvenirs. Then we got on a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) and went to a restaurant called The Lawns.

I had told my boda boda driver a few times to go slow and careful and to his credit he was more careful than usual. This meant that when he was going to pull out in front of a car he waved at them first, minimised his driving on the wrong side of the road and missed giant potholes by about an inch rather than the usual centimetre.

The Lawns was a lovely slice of paradise in the middle of insanity. I definitely felt way too dirty to be in there!! But the staff were very polite to us nonetheless and served us a variety of animals. We had crocodile ribs, springbok strips and a steak sample platter of kulu, impala, springbok and blesbok. This was quite an upper class restaurant but still worked out so cheap with the conversion.

On the way back through Kampala we  changed some more money. The cashier informed us that as some notes were torn so she couldn't take them, but she could offer us a different rate for them (about half the conversion). So dodgy. So we took our money and got out of there.

After a short trip home to wash off the sweat and dirt from a hot day in Kampala, we headed a few villages over to Afro bar for a beer and to watch the football. Ugandans are obsessed with English football, with each person having picked one of the top 4 to support. Ugandans are actually very reserved people however and sat in silence watching the game, politely clapping whenever someone scored.

About halfway through the match though, someone came around and asked for money for concert tickets as a concert was about to start there. As it was only £1 we just paid it. However a huge argument erupted at the next table. A group of men had come to watch the football, did so every night and were not keen on paying to stay in their local bar. This all transpired in English so are were able to understand. At the height of the argument one man shouted at the ticket seller "You can understand only Luganda. You cannot understand English. You are stupid, illiterate. You cannot make me pay. Go away."

I've been using the small bits of Luganda I know frequently. Mostly people are really shocked and pleased. However, sometimes people look at me oddly and respond in English. I had started to wonder if it may have been that as they knew English they found my presumption that they may wish to communicate in Luganda a little insulting. Given what we witnessed tonight, it seems possible that it is a bit of a class thing.

After waiting a couple of hours for the show to start, and seemingly the whole village turning up, the show finally started. We watched the first 3 acts, all pretty much karaoke with a single person on stage singing to an overpowering backing track and decided to bail.

We grabbed a rolex for beer munchies - Uganda's beat street food - an omelette, sometimes containing tomato, cabbage or onion rolled up inside an Indian style crepe thing.

Sitting at home now though, it's 10:30pm and the loudest music ever is blasting from who knows where. We are next to a Muslim school and beside that is a plastics plant. I can't imagine either of them are having a party, but who bloody knows. This is Uganda.

Friday 22 February 2013

Day 5 - Progress

I slept well last night and woke up in a great mood.

I've been thinking a lot about Jolly Mercy. While the teaching methods might not be what we would chose and there is definite room for improvement, the school is giving some really underprivileged children name go at life. For many of the boarders it takes them out of unsuitable home environments and provides not only education, but food, safety, medical care and counselling.

Many of the students have been slipping Leckie and I notes. Most introduce themselves and contain pictures. One asked for sponsorship though.

The other volunteer has left so with only Leckie and I in the house I decided to give cooking breakfast on the camp stove a go. It was only eggs and beans but being that I hate cooking and camping I was quite proud of myself.

I listened to the radio as I cooked. One woman had phoned in and was having a massive rant about government corruption. Times sure have changed since the Amin days. The DJ's response... "You are very good at shouting."

We went to visit Mariam to let her know she was going to have a latrine built. I met Marian last time I visited. She had 3 children, the eldest of whom has cerebral palsy. Mariam's husband left her claiming she must be cursed to have had such a child. When I was there last her husband's family were trying to evict her from the house. CALM involved the police though and Mariam is now allowed to stay.

When we arrived at her house though she was not there. The eldest child, the one with cerebral palsy was near the house, just sitting in the dirt. Marian was nowhere to be seen. Israel said that she would likely be digging in the field for money and would have to have left the child at home. They're really not that far from the main road and it felt awful leaving again without having found Mariam or being able to contribute to the safety of the child.

We went instead to see the chairman of the village. This is essentially the chief. Before we discussed Mariam he walked us around his place showing us some ingenious things he has done. 

He keeps cows, uses their manure to produce gas for cooking and lighting, uses the left over manure sludge to fertilise banana trees, uses the bananas to make wine which he sells to local bars. He even makes gin and produces his own hay to feed the cows. He's so self sufficient. It was wonderful to see what people can do with so little. Before we left he had us sign his visitor book. Anyone who is anyone in Uganda has was visitor book in their house or office.

We then went in search of the contractor who we will hire to dig the pit. Along the way I was considering what else we could do for Marian. CALM do a pig and seeds pack. The pig fertilises the garden and feeds off the produce with the rest being eaten by the family. It's very sustainable.  However, Mariam is Muslim and so won't keep pigs. This got me thinking, the worst situations I have seen here are Mariam and Musa - both Muslim. With the fairly recent Al Qaeda problems here I wonder if there is an element of Muslim families not receiving as much community support as others.

We found the contractors digging a latrine nearby. It was absolutely amazing and terrifying to watch. The latrine pit is coffin shaped and about 40foot deep. This one being 30feet deep so far. The materials they are using are a plastic bucket, rope and pulley. As they dig down, they dig foot holds in the side, then someone climbs down into it to dig, with the other man pulling the full buckets up. It's dangerous work as the walls do sometimes collapse. So scary. We talked to them about Marian and they say they can start Tuesday.

After this Israel hijacked us and took us to meet his mother and we watched him does maize in her field for half an hour. No idea why...

Later on in the day, as if on cue, someone started talking to us about Muslims. He said that he liked Australia because we don't let Muslims in and that all they do is start fighting and set bombs. Hmm. I figure in these situations it's best to say nothing, but it has furthered my curiosity about whether religious tensions are at play in some of the greater poverty situations here.

Back at school we laid out an plan to see CALM's most at risk families on Monday and Tuesday (with the main focus being on those that could do with small business start up - super sustainable), making donation purchase on Wednesday and distributing/carrying out activities on Thursday. It will be an awesome week.

Some other things today:
* The kids kept poking my sunburn amazed that my skin changes colour when touched
* A teacher at the school told the kids Leckie was going to die because tattoos cause cancer
* Saw the biggest fish I've ever seen. It was as thick as me with a mouth as big as my head
* We realised that there are no clocks in any of the classrooms so the kids have no way to tell the time

Thursday 21 February 2013

Day 4 - Kids, kids and more kids

Today was CALM's field workers' day off so we stayed with the Jolly Mercy students all day.

While waiting for our first task we were talking to Stephen who runs the school's kitchen. When we went in I was quite horrified to find large fires and no chimney or ventilation of any sort. The smoke just kind of pools in the ceiling and goes out the door. The poor guy just breathes it in all day. Can't be healthy.

For our first session we were in Top Class - a group of kids anywhere between 2 1/2 and 6 years old. They started off by singing and dancing and then we moved into a lesson on basic words. It was quite tough dealing with such mixed ages and abilities. Some of the children were so badly behaved and wouldn't cooperate. It didn't help that there was also a disabled child running around the classroom hitting the teacher with a stick. I looked on in disbelief as the disabled student climbed on to a table and started hitting the globe hanging from the ceiling. The teacher, obviously thinking I was wondering why he did this rather than why no one stopped him, pointed to her head and made a circular motions while nodding towards the child.

After the lesson another volunteer was reading the kids a story, but lost their attention when another teacher came in to the room singing, dancing and laughing and then just left again.

Then we took the class to a local swimming pool for a swim. Along the walk there one little girl decided that Leckie's new name is "Teacher Whitey Whitey".

The whole swimming lesson was hilarious. This was the first time in a pool for them and most would never even have sat in a bath tub before. The mix of fear, curiosity and excitement was so funny as they just didn't know what to make of it. Unfortunately the weather began to change and as the clouds rolled in the temperature dropped to only semi-sweltering and the kids all started to shiver. So it was time to go.

Back at the school Leckie got the kids involved in a football game, breaking up fights frequently. I also had an chance to chat to James about Musa. He was also very disappointed but said he would get the counsellor to speak with Aisha and involve the government if necessary.

At a loose end later this afternoon we went with 2 CALM staff to collect water for the volunteer house, driving past a graveyard with an odd grave done in bathroom tiles on the way. I had a go at pumping water as the local children stared wide eyed at me. I can't imagine having to do this every day but it's a reality for most people in Uganda. However most don't even have cars and would have to walk there and back. I can barely carry one jerry can from the car!

It's been nice to have a little break from the emotionally draining side of things but the kids are exhausting. I',l. E glad to get back on community outreach. For those that read my blog last time - I am going to see Marian tomorrow and will likely be able to tell her we'll be building her a latrine. :-)

Day 3 - African Insanity

Life really is so much harder in Uganda, even for the middle class. What I wouldn't give for running water and a proper shower after the day in the slums. I also have sore muscles from holding myself upright in the car across bad dirt roads and am exhausted from having to be 100% alert all the time to avoid falling in a sewer or something.

Then I think of Musa's emaciated body lying in the dirt and I feel so guilty. It was like a real life World Vision commercial.

I'm so lucky to have been born to parents who wouldn't hesitate to take me to the hospital if I was seriously ill. This morning with breakfast I took a malaria tablet, multivitamin and contraceptive pill - things most people in this country don't have access to. So lucky.

We were asked today to observe a class and were taken to P5, the class of my sponsor kid, Dorothy. Her teacher Robert took us through what we would be doing today - listening and observing but not teaching. Fine by me!!

The teaching style is incredibly different to Western society. It's mostly about repitition and memorisation. Discipline is unstructured and inconsistent with children wandering in and out of the classrooms and random children appearing about the school grounds. At one point Dorothy leaned on the teacher's desk and was told off for it. 30 mins later the same behaviour was not remarked on.

Some of the students desk share and the class takes turns copying from a few text books. One big difference I noticed was in individual attention. During a reading class the students all read together without anyone being picked out to read individually. When the teacher would set the students questions he would wander from the room and leave them to it.

Today the class had to submit applications for various roles such as Head Boy, Head Girl, Head of Games, Sanitation Leader and Time Keeper. Dorothy submitted hers for Food Manager. This means at lunch time she will serve food to the rest of her class. Kind of ironic as she has been refusing to go eat her porridge whenever I am around as she wants to spend as much time as possible with me.

I am being very careful in my interactions with her. She has not had much kindness in her life, particularly not from women. I don't want her to see me as a mother figure and want to make sure to minimise the impact of my leaving again.

The classroom has a bunch of newspaper clippings on the wall from a previous project. I was encouraged to see a poster campaigning for smaller families but confused to see a newspaper clipping about a UK businessman and his Ugandan prostitute.

After the morning session I left Leckie at the school and went on foot with Israel and another volunteer to meet some of the families in the local area. It's been really hot today and I was struggling a little. One of the dirt tracks we took was very compacted with loose gravel. As I moved out of the way of an approaching motorbike I slipped on the gravel, fell and cut my leg. What is we me doing that in this country?! So now I have a nice assortment of cuts and scrapes to try to keep clean.

The first family we saw were a real success story. They had been embroiled in a legal battle over land and had had to sell their cow to pay for a lawyer. They won their case though and were able to keep their land which they use for big farming, generating income from this. Amusingly, when the father was telling us about his children he couldn't remember the name of his youngest daughter. That's Ugandan fathering for you!

The second family live in a lovely house but are now struggling as both parents have died. The aunties have moved in to care for the children but cannot afford school fees. They are seeking sponsorship for 2 children so that they can continue at Jolly Mercy.

Along the way I got an update from Israel on Musa. After waiting 5 hours at Mulago, Aisha (his mother) gave up and took him to a private clinic. I couldn't believe this. 5 hours is no a long time to wait for hospital admission, even by Western standards. Also, the nurse at Katalemwa Rehabilitation Centre had said specifically that he should not go to a clinic and really needed to be admitted to hospital. It was reiterated to Aisha that she would have to pay if she did this but she went anyway. Yet again it seems that Aisha's time is more important than Musa's health. Clearly nothing we said yesterday sunk in.

When I returned to the school I found Leckie teaching a class a math lesson by himself. Apparently the teacher had just wandered out a couple of hours ago and not returned. It was cool to get to act as teaching assistant, give some individual attention band make sure they really understood the reasons behind the answers.

At lunch the main focus was my hair. The kids laughed at my white scalp, touched my hair, told me over and over how soft it was and one child wanted to eat it...

After lunch Leckie and I headed into Kampala as we really needed to change some money and get a SIM. It had been such a hot day so we were so happy when the storm started. That happiness soon faded when we realised that rain in Kampala equals traffic chaos.

Waiting at the shared taxi stop the scenes we witnessed were unbelievable. As the cars approached people in business suits would begin pressing against the doors, pushing, pulling and even punching to get their seat in the taxi. After watching this for some time we decided that this was no game for a m'zungu and shamefully went in search of a private taxi. At 10 times to cost of a shared taxi it came in at about £11.

The private taxi was in intself an experience. We ended up in a traffic jam in the literal sense of the word - company cars had tried to move in so many directions that there was no way forward for anyone. People had to get out and push the cars around to untangle the mess. The rest if the trip home consisted of erratic driving, shouting in Luganda, rubbish dirt roads and one cry of "why my friend?!". After having totally ripped us off the driver had a the hide to ask for 'soda money'. We pretended not to understand.

After a slippy, muddy, torchlit walk up the driveway we finally arrived home and I looked at my phone to see CALM staff had worriedly been phoning after reports we hadn't returned home when expected. Whoops!

With the power out we ate dinner by candlelight, I resigned myself to not washing my hair for another day and turned in.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Day 2 - Heartbreak & Lessons Learned

First thing this morning Leckie and I met with Doctor James Ssekinawa , director of CALM Africa.

We talked for about his desire to recruit a 12 month teaching volunteer. I went into work mode and took a brief on the role from him. I will draft it when I return to England, post it online and have initial calls with any interested candidates. The role of the teacher would be to gradually introduce western ideas such as reading for pleasure.

I then asked about the vocational skills taught. They're going okay with construction education but have ceased cooking class (which with the girls only!!!) due to lack of funding. They have 2 computers in the school that they don't use for training as they have no money for repairs if the kids break them. James mentioned that 4 years ago someone had promised them 40 computers, but had never come good with the promise. Leckie's company send all their old computers to Computer Aid, who distribute them in developing countries. Leckie will see if he can connect CALM and Computer Aid.

Finally we discussed the boarding conditions Jolly Mercy. The dorms are not all finished with some of the children sleeping on the floor and without shutters on the windows. James feels this is a major priority for CALM right now.

After speaking with James we went to check on some projects in the Katanga slum. The Katanga slums are a sprawling mess of shanty shacks right in the middle of Kampala, housing 60,000 people surrounded by affluence. There are running sewerage streams, dirty water poverty and a lack of safety.

The charity CALM support here is called Hope For Life and we visited 2 of their learning centres in the area. When I say learning centre I mean small rooms that house about 20 of the most vulnerable children in the area. CALM are not able to give much but do what they can. Hope For Life I cannot afford to feed the children but do give them some bread tea. Some of the children will be able to go on to Jolly Mercy if they gain sponsorship.

We were shown also the site where they are building temporary classrooms to expand. Streams of filthy water ran across the tiny piece of land. They will not be able to do anything about that, but will build up a little to redirect the water. It is such an unsanitary environment but they are so happy to have this land.

Some things that happened as we walked around Katanga:
* Lots of skin touching by very small children who mobbed us from time to time
* Someone shouted at me "Sister Obama"
* Walked over many precarious home made bridges terrified of a repeat of last year's fall
* Some men tries to engage us in some gambling game involves a piece of string on the ground
* I learned that 1 of the girls from Jolly Mercy was from the slums had been working as a prostitute hereat 16 years old

After Katanga we were going to see Musa. Though Ali had warned me he was not well I was so excited to see him and see what improvements he had made. When we arrived at the slum Musa lives in we were directed to him. As we stood waiting, a man came and peeled back a blanket on the ground to reveal Musa. My heart instantly sank and I felt a mix of anger, despair and hopelessness.

We took Musa to the rehabilitation centre that had been caring for him and were referred to the hospital. I refused to pay for a private hospital (more on that later) and so we went to Mulago public hospital. We left Must with his mother and brother and some cash to pay for bed sheets - you have to pay for your own if you are admitted.

So why was this boy who was making such a good recovery so ill? The biggest reason is the apathy of his mother. When I was last here I made a donation for some treatment for Musa, which included education for his mother on how to care for him post rehabilitation. However, instead of attending, she sent someone else. This meant that the information was not passed on properly. So, while Musa had made many advancements, as he didn't receive ongoing care he made a full relapse.

At the Katalemwa rehabilitation centre, the nurse confirmed that while Aisha had been telling CALM she was taking him for check ups this had not happened at all. He would have run out of medication by now too. This is now being treated as neglect by CALM who will keep a close eye on the situation. Israel was very stern with Musa's mother but she just didn't seem too care, looking defiantly away and not in the least bit sorry for what she had done to her own son.

I am no it feeling great this evening writing this. I suspect I will be asked to support another round of therapy and I will have to say no. If his mother is unwilling to carry on giving care at home there is absolutely no point in sending him for another month at the centre. It's the hardest decision I've ever had to make and it's so unfair that Musa has to suffer because the one person in the world that should love him unconditionally has failed him so badly.

Tomorrow we will see what has happened in Mulago and take it from there.

Sitting and reflecting I really don't know what to make of it all. One thing is very clear though, money alone cannot solve the problems of Uganda and charity (in the true sense of the word) does not work. Musa's mother now has her own business and is able to support him but has chosen not to. The real question is why.

Children's rights - or lack thereof - are a huge problem in Uganda. Particularly where the child is disabled they are seen as a burden and embarrassment to the family. Musa was born with epilepsy. He was undiagnosed and then untreated, leading to cerebral palsy. His father abandoned him and his mother refused him the medical attention he needed believing he caught this 'disease' from the hospital and not wanting to return there. When someone gave assistance he gained the ability to move, eat and have some independence. Only to have it taken away again so quickly.

I imagine what his life would have been like had he been born in Australia or England. His epilepsy would have been diagnosed, treated and he would have lived a relatively normal life.

It was very encouraging to see Israel deal with his mother so robustly but there is so much work to do across Uganda to change the attitudes that allowed this to happen.

I'm conscious I have talked a lot about this and some of you will be quite upset, so to finish on a lighter note, here are some things that happened today that didn't break my heart:
* Leckie introducing the Jolly Mercy kids to his iPhone. Their favour it things were the front cam and Scribblenauts
* A taxi with "petience" written on it
* A Uganda newspaper with headings such as "Drunkos hit by lightening after abusing God's songs" and "City babe unleashes soupy butt."

Day 1.2 Musings

The stranglehold let the witch doctors have on Ugandan society is terrifying. I can't understand how someone could be driven to murder a child - whether their own or someone else's  for the promise of riches.

I would go so far as to blame the witch doctors for perpetuating the poverty cycle. If a whole community of people believe that success in life is down to luck and who the spirits favour, they are hardly  going to be motivated to work hard on strategy to improve their situation. Instead they wait around hoping the spirits will favour them and spending what little they have at the witch doctor to increase their chances.

It really is a difficult situation because you don't want to trample on people's customs and beliefs, but the only way forward is the realisation that you also have some control of your in destiny.

Meanwhile back in the van Israel seems to have taken a shine to Leckie. He tells him he has chosen a good woman (interesting choice of words but I am inclined to agree), that he should marry me and he wishes us twins. Well I couldn't think of much worse then suddenly having 2 babies to care for I'll take the compliment.

Sitting back in the volunteer house now reflecting on what a full on first day it has been. I'm so pleased to have Leckie here with me this time though a little worried I'll have no desire to leave now.

Tomorrow we visit the slums and I get to see Musa with his new wheelchair. I'm so excited!!

Tuesday 19 February 2013

Day 1 - Straight Into It

Ahhh... it feels good to be back in Africa. There's nothing quite like it.

We arrived in Entebbe at around 1am this morning, staying a night in a motel. This morning we were picked up by Joseph from CALM Africa and transferred to the project site. The traffice coming through Kampala was awful and it took us almost  hours to get there - all teh while jammed into a hot car going nowhere.

There were of course the usual sightings to keep us entertained, including a giant tractor in the middle of the city driven by a man in a suit. Passing a group of traffic police (in white uniforms for some crazy reason) one of them started to pull us over, then saw me in the passenger seat and let us pass.Traffic cops around Kampala are known for trying to get bribes, but aren't so keen on foreigners taking that story home.

Closer to the school that CALM run, we passed the house of the opposition leader. There was a road block and police with rifles on the path to his house. Apparently he sometimes organises walk to work protests against the current government.  This includes people rallying at his house, which the government do not appreciate. So, to keen him in line, they barricade him in his house for days/weeks at a time. Hmmm. Will keep my thoughts on that one off line.

Arriving at school I was greeted with a huge hug from Dorothy. For anyone who doesn't know the story, Dorothy is my sponsor child. She was in a terrible situation last time I visited and another volunteer and I decided to sponsor her to board at Jolly Mercy. It was great to see how happy she is now. There was practically no trace of the scared, defeated child I met.

Making the rounds at school it was awesome to introduce Leckie to everyone and finally connect the dots between him and CALM. There was one really uncomfortable situation where a whole class called us master. We're thinking this was a confusion around the word headmaster, but awkward....

There is another volunteer here who has some friends looking to sponsor children, so we went to visit some children in need of this.

Family 1
The mother, Ellen is raising her 2 children alone. As an assortment of chickens peck around our feet in the house she tells us her story. It's an only too familiar one in Uganda. Ellen had been going to school, paid for by her uncle and had been married. When her uncle died she was not able to continue at school. Her husband considered paying for this, but Ellen's mother in law had taken an intense disliking to her and forbade it.

In the end, Ellen's husband left saying he wanted nothing to do with her, her children or his mother. They are luckily living in a house at the moment but it does not belong to them and could be taken away at any time. Ellen digs in the fields for food money but cannot afford school fees. As she has the children with her she doesn't get much work done, earns less and the cycle repeats.

Family 2
The mother, Rose, has 6 biological children and cares for 3 orphans also. Her house was in very good condition and she even had a television - even the volunteer house doesn't have that! Though with this many children to care for, finance have become quite strained ad she is having difficulty supporting them.

The 3 orphans Rose looks after are her sister's children. Their father passed in 2007 and their mother in 2011, both of AIDS. One of the children is HIV positive and another is albino and struggling in this climate. Without proper eye protection he has gone blind and does not cover his skin. I actually had a donated hat in the car so gave it to him before we left.

Family 3
I was so excited about this one, going back to see Kizimula whom I had bought some glasses last time I was here. I was really pleased to see that he is now able to get some work and is contributing more to the support of his wife and the orphaned children they look after.

Kizimula is looking much better, the bones in his chest are no longer protruding and he seems much happier. He describes putting on his glasses as the fog clearing.

They have another baby in the house since I last visited. The baby is their grandchild and a HIV orphan. At 9 months old he is looking very malnourished and unhealthy. Whilst we were there the baby started to wee. Instead of covering him or taking him outside they just let him do it on the floor inside. Not very hygienic! I couldn't help but look at my watch and think that had I been at home right now I would be walking through Waterloo to Pret to get a sandwich instead of squatting in a dirty mud hut watching a baby urinate.

Family 4
The final family of the day consisted of a woman and 6 children. The live in a single room and are not very healthy. THe kids are currently sponsored to attend public school. This means classes of about 200 students and no personal attention. It also means beatings from teachers. But it's better than nothing.

We were told that the father disappeared 2 years ago, which raised questions about the infant she was nursing . Apparently she had recently fallen in love with a man but when she fell pregnant he abandoned here. So here's how this works: It's believed that the witch doctor can help a woman to not give birth for up to 2 years, so the man accused her of having done this and the baby of being her husband's.A really convenient excuse for men who do't want to take responsibility for their own actions! And again, sadly, not surprising.

Men really do live a charmed life in Uganda. Don't want to deal with something? No problem. Just blame the woman and the witch doctor.

To be continued...

Sunday 10 February 2013

1 Week To Go!

With only one week to go until Leckie and I leave for Uganda we are getting very excited. It was great timing also to receive an update from CALM Africa on an intervention from last time.

Anyone who read my previous blog is probably familiar with the story of Musa. Musa is a teenage boy living in the Kisenyi slums in outer Kampala. He has epilepsy and cerebral palsy and due to lack of access to medication was paralised when CALM found him.

Through a small donation Musa was able to spend time with Katalemwa Rehabilitation Centre, gain access to medication and had a made to order wheelchair and toilet seat to allow him greater independence. Things move a little more slowly in Africa, but a couple of days ago I received confirmation that his wheelchair and toilet seat had been delivered. Not only this, but his mother Aisha was accepted to a women's group who have supported her to start her own business and so she has been able to afford to keep up Musa's medication.



The picture above is of 2 members of CALM delivering the wheelchair and toilet seat to Aisha and the Kisenyi district chairman.

Thank you to the donations sent to us we will be able to help more people like Musa and Aisha and will be blogging here so that you can keep an eye on what we're doing and how your donation is being spent.

Leckie and I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends, family and colleagues and can't thank you all enough for your support. So we would like to extend a big thank you to:

  • Linda
  • Joy
  • Mel
  • Marie
  • Dan
  • Tom
  • Matt & Michelle
  • Vicky
  • Murray
  • Kylie
  • Rob
  • Marion
  • James
  • Gary & Jill
  • Shaun
  • Katie
  • Daryl
  • Erin
  • Maya & Kris
  • Simo & Milla
  • Ali
  • Alex
  • Aaron
  • Will
  • Laura
  • Jess
  • Beth
  • Sandy
  • Andy & Sarah
  • Ken
And an extra large thank you to Tanith & Helene for their massive generosity.

In just over a week we will be landing in Uganda and will get to work putting your donations to good use. I'll be trying to get a SIM for my tablet so that I can blog frequently, but Leckie the tech man tells me it might not be possible. Internet access is reasonably scarce in Uganda. There are local internet cafes but they can only be used when both the power and the networks are working in the village - this was probably about 25% of the times I tried to use them last time. So if you don't see a blog for a little while don't be concerned. We will update as much as possible.

Once again, thank you all!